India’s demand for data centres is growing fast. Many companies now look for strong digital infrastructure to run cloud services and artificial intelligence tools. To address this challenge, Airtel Nxtra, the data centre arm of Bharti Airtel, plans to raise $1 billion to expand its facilities in India.
The company eyes a new global investor for this funding round. According to reports, Alpha Wave Global, an investment firm linked to Abu Dhabi’s Deputy Ruler Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is looking to invest about $400 million in the business.
Existing investors will also add fresh capital. Bharti Airtel and private equity firm Carlyle Group plan to invest around $300 million each. The company will raise the money through a rights issue and preferential allotment. The funds will directly go to the company to support growth.
Currently, Airtel Nxtra runs 14 main data centres and more than 120 edge centres across 65 cities in India. These facilities currently offer 120-130 megawatts of capacity. The company nearly owns 12% of India’s data centre market.
Airtel executives want Nxtra to reach 1 gigawatt capacity in the next 3 to 4 years. The company also aims to increase its market share to about 25% during the same period.
The new investment also marks a shift in Carlyle Group's strategy. Earlier, the firm explored selling its 24.04% stake in Nxtra. Carlyle bought this stake in 2021 for about $235 million, when the company was valued at around $1.2 billion.
However, the strong growth in India’s digital infrastructure market has changed that plan. Instead of exiting, Carlyle now plans to invest again and support the next phase of expansion.
Demand for AI infrastructure and cloud services continues to increase in India. Companies need powerful data centres to store large amounts of data and run advanced software systems. This trend has created strong growth in the data centre industry.
The expansion also connects with a large technology project in India. Bharti Airtel is working as an infrastructure partner in a $15 billion AI data centre hub planned in Visakhapatnam. The project will include a large data centre campus, an international subsea cable gateway, and clean energy systems.
Financial performance also shows steady progress. According to Airtel’s annual report, Nxtra recorded revenue of Rs. 2,078.5 crore and a net profit of Rs. 224.3 crore for the financial year ending March 2025.
Several big companies now compete in India’s data centre market. Groups such as Reliance, Adani, Tata, and Larsen & Toubro are also investing in new facilities across the country.
With this $1 billion fundraise, Airtel Nxtra plans to expand faster and strengthen its role in India’s digital infrastructure sector. The company may also consider a public listing in the future as the business continues to grow.
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